December 9, 2019
Hello hello! New post only one week later? Say no more.
This week, I went on a day trip to Metz, France (my first time in France:) with the neighbors I am now best friends with. The neighbors are the ones I go over to twice a week, once to talk and help teach English with the ten year old boy, and the other to get help with my French classes with the mother. The family is so cool, and they invited me to go with them to Metz, their hometown, on Saturday. It was AMAZING. We walked through the old streets, in both the German part of the town and the French part. The German part doesn't belong to Germany, though Metz has historically been a part of France and Germany, switching off during different wars. The German part of town was built during a time of German occupation, so the architecture is very flamboyant and has excessive details. The French part of town is more stark and utilitarian, but no less old and neat to look at. I think I took pictures of both parts of town, so you'll see what I mean.
We first went to a patisserie, or a bakery, and got a croissant for a quick breakfast and a dessert to eat later at home. We walked to the train station, said to be the most beautiful train station in France. It was very pretty, and I have pictures of both the outside and inside.
After that, we rode in a Ferris wheel that was right outside of the cathedral. It was as tall as the cathedral, so we had a great view of the top of it and the entire city.
We walked to a little French restaurant, where I had a mirabelle aperitif, which is like a white wine mixed with mirabelle plum flavor (either just the flavor or a liquor made from the plum). To eat, I had what was called a rustic toast in English: a long piece of bread with onions, mushrooms, potatoes, and three kinds of cheese (emmental, gouda, and cream if I remember right) ~toasted~ on top. It came with a side of roast potatoes, and my meal was delecious, despite the father ordering veal's head rightttttt next to me 😷 After lunch, I bought a warm, water repellent coat from a shop down the street. It's colder and rainier than I packed for (as it was summer when I got here and didn't think about a coat), and was going to buy a coat in Luxembourg (I actually did buy a coat but it was too small and I had to return it, it was a whole coat thing) but it's a little more expensive here. I found an amazing yellow coat for €25, and I looooove it! We went to a cheese shop next, and I had to leave because of the smell. I thought I would vomit, but I held it together. Now I know that I won't ever go into a cheese shop again😁
The one thing that was not fun was the police and soldiers patrolling the town. They had large guns (like two hands required), and full uniforms. To get into any of the Christmas markets, they searched your purse/bag. I was told this was because of the terrorist attacks France has seen in the last few years. I'm sure you remember the one in Paris five years ago, but there was also one in Metz as well. The neighbors said that Paris has the same security or even more. I was unsettled and sad after seeing that, but I understand why too.
On a happier note, we went to see Frozen 2 in 4D X something something on Sunday. If you haven't seen Frozen 2 yet, you gotta check it out. I think it was better than the first..... Anyway, it was my first time seeing a movie in 4D whatever, and it was really weird but cool. The chair moved, kind of like riding a roller coaster, vibrated, blew air into both ears (which I was not a fan of), and hit my feet with a zip tie kind of thing. The chair in front of me squirted mist into my face. The lights flashed, there was fog, some kind of confetti dropped when they wanted it to seem like it was snowing, and extra wind sounds for when you couldn't tell it was windy on screen. That part is funny because, in the movie, there's a wind spirit. (Sorry, spoilers I GUESS.) Anyway, go see the movie, or a movie in 4D because it was pretty neat.
Other than that, the week was pretty quiet. St. Nicholas came on Thursday night/Friday evening, so we had Friday off. I went to the library to return some books, so I took a picture of the Christmas market there. My host mother also took some pictures of the amazing views she had over the city, so I'll add those here.
Next time I write will be my last time for the year (2019), so I'll tell you all about my trip to Paris! For now, goodbye:)
This week, I went on a day trip to Metz, France (my first time in France:) with the neighbors I am now best friends with. The neighbors are the ones I go over to twice a week, once to talk and help teach English with the ten year old boy, and the other to get help with my French classes with the mother. The family is so cool, and they invited me to go with them to Metz, their hometown, on Saturday. It was AMAZING. We walked through the old streets, in both the German part of the town and the French part. The German part doesn't belong to Germany, though Metz has historically been a part of France and Germany, switching off during different wars. The German part of town was built during a time of German occupation, so the architecture is very flamboyant and has excessive details. The French part of town is more stark and utilitarian, but no less old and neat to look at. I think I took pictures of both parts of town, so you'll see what I mean.
We first went to a patisserie, or a bakery, and got a croissant for a quick breakfast and a dessert to eat later at home. We walked to the train station, said to be the most beautiful train station in France. It was very pretty, and I have pictures of both the outside and inside.
Next, we walked through the streets to get to the cathedral, which is about 800 years old. We met up with her father, who knew a lot about this particular building, and he gave us a tour in French, translated to English for me. Duh. Anyway, he knew a lot about the masonry (imagine that!) and had some fun stories that not everyone who visited the cathedral would know. It was soooo impressive. I took a ton of pictures, so feel free to skip over them if you don't like amazing, beautiful buildings.
After that, we rode in a Ferris wheel that was right outside of the cathedral. It was as tall as the cathedral, so we had a great view of the top of it and the entire city.
We walked to a little French restaurant, where I had a mirabelle aperitif, which is like a white wine mixed with mirabelle plum flavor (either just the flavor or a liquor made from the plum). To eat, I had what was called a rustic toast in English: a long piece of bread with onions, mushrooms, potatoes, and three kinds of cheese (emmental, gouda, and cream if I remember right) ~toasted~ on top. It came with a side of roast potatoes, and my meal was delecious, despite the father ordering veal's head rightttttt next to me 😷 After lunch, I bought a warm, water repellent coat from a shop down the street. It's colder and rainier than I packed for (as it was summer when I got here and didn't think about a coat), and was going to buy a coat in Luxembourg (I actually did buy a coat but it was too small and I had to return it, it was a whole coat thing) but it's a little more expensive here. I found an amazing yellow coat for €25, and I looooove it! We went to a cheese shop next, and I had to leave because of the smell. I thought I would vomit, but I held it together. Now I know that I won't ever go into a cheese shop again😁
The one thing that was not fun was the police and soldiers patrolling the town. They had large guns (like two hands required), and full uniforms. To get into any of the Christmas markets, they searched your purse/bag. I was told this was because of the terrorist attacks France has seen in the last few years. I'm sure you remember the one in Paris five years ago, but there was also one in Metz as well. The neighbors said that Paris has the same security or even more. I was unsettled and sad after seeing that, but I understand why too.
On a happier note, we went to see Frozen 2 in 4D X something something on Sunday. If you haven't seen Frozen 2 yet, you gotta check it out. I think it was better than the first..... Anyway, it was my first time seeing a movie in 4D whatever, and it was really weird but cool. The chair moved, kind of like riding a roller coaster, vibrated, blew air into both ears (which I was not a fan of), and hit my feet with a zip tie kind of thing. The chair in front of me squirted mist into my face. The lights flashed, there was fog, some kind of confetti dropped when they wanted it to seem like it was snowing, and extra wind sounds for when you couldn't tell it was windy on screen. That part is funny because, in the movie, there's a wind spirit. (Sorry, spoilers I GUESS.) Anyway, go see the movie, or a movie in 4D because it was pretty neat.
Other than that, the week was pretty quiet. St. Nicholas came on Thursday night/Friday evening, so we had Friday off. I went to the library to return some books, so I took a picture of the Christmas market there. My host mother also took some pictures of the amazing views she had over the city, so I'll add those here.
Next time I write will be my last time for the year (2019), so I'll tell you all about my trip to Paris! For now, goodbye:)
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